February 18, 2020 by Carol Britton Meyer
At a recent joint school committee, selectmen, and advisory committee meeting, Supt. of Schools Paul Austin presented a tiered school budget proposal for fiscal 2021 comprised of “most critical,” “highly critical,” and “critical needs.” These proposals ranged from an overall school budget of $57.7 million to $58 million to $59.1 million respectively.
“The FY21 budget is presented in a Tier 1, 2, and 3 format, designed to express our needs in a prioritized manner,” Austin said. “All three tiers represent the present and most immediate/critical needs of our students and district as prioritized by the administrative team.”
Austin said all three tiers are necessary to address:
- The most pressing needs of Hingham Public Schools students;
- The efficient operations of the district;
- The priorities set by the School Committee;
- The HPS mission and vision.
Since 2012 the average HPS operating budget increase has been 4.43 percent, with an average increase over the past five years of 4.55 percent.
The approved FY 2020 budget was $54.3 million. The status quo FY 2021 budget would total $56.7 million — for an increase of $2.4 million, or 4.4 percent, including mandatory salary adjustments, allowance for negotiations, and required contractual services.
“HPS students have a long history of academic and extra-curricular excellence,” Austin said. “They are exceptional in many ways, from their performance in the classroom, on stage, on the athletic fields, and in the community.”
In addition, HPS students have consistently scored well above the state average on overall state assessments.
The following explains the three options:
The Tier 1 — most critical needs — budget includes those supports and services above the “status quo” (required to meet the needs of HPS students and to fulfill federal and state mandates) budget that are most critical to meeting the needs of all students, according to Austin.
The Tier 1 budget includes funding for the essential services necessary to provide equitable supports for all students who are struggling to meet state expectations; necessary services to allow expansion of the Pre-K program to meet state requirements; needed support to ease administrative demand due to high school enrollment increases; the necessary increase to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) opportunities at the Middle School, based on student demand; and the necessary increase for human resources for the district. This budget proposal is $930,743 over the status quo budget.
The Tier 2 — “highly critical needs” — budget includes those supports and services above the status quo budget with Tier 1 additions that are considered to be highly critical for meeting the needs of all students. This budget includes the addition of building-level leadership in special education and fine arts; an increase of one guidance counselor at the high school to address the needs of students due to increased enrollment; the expansion of elementary music and middle school art teaching positions to ensure equitable offerings for all schools; and the addition of two Unified Sports coaching positions to address program growth and needs. This budget proposal is $342,195 over the status quo with Tier 1 budget.
The Tier 3 — “critical needs” — budget includes those supports and services above the status quo budget with Tier 1 and 2 additions that are considered by school officials to be critical to meeting the needs of all students. This budget proposal includes the addition of district and school level leadership in technology and at the high school due to growing technology needs, high school enrollment increases, and demands on the administration; additional high school teachers in foreign language, English, health, and science and additional support personnel; additional adjustment counselors at the elementary and Middle School levels to address the continued increase in mental health needs in the HPS; increased special education teachers and support staff at the elementary level to ensure equity and to adequately address the needs of the youngest students; various coaching positions to support the HPS athletic programs; and an additional maintenance employee to better address the operational/mechanical needs of the schools. This budget proposal is $1.08 million over the status quo with Tiers 1 and 2 budget.
With regard to special education, as of Jan. 1, 2020, HPS had 631 students who were identified for special education services.
Austin also noted that HPS is “one of just 37 remaining districts in Massachusetts that do not provide full-day kindergarten to all children.” About 98 percent of Hingham families that are registered for kindergarten participate in the HPS full-day program and pay tuition.
Accordingly, Austin said HPS “needs to consider offering free, full-day kindergarten in the future,” with an expected budget impact of losing the $980,000 that is currently paid as tuition.
Austin also referred to what he called “facilities challenges”: Aging infrastructure and equipment are no longer a growing concern, but need immediate attention,” he said.
Enrollment
Austin also noted that from a 10-year perspective, “enrollment is trending upward.” An enrollment study completed by the New England School Development Council in 2018 indicates that HPS grades K-12 are “likely to continue to maintain the present pace of growth, supported by additional residential construction,” with the greatest growth projected in grades K-5 through 2027-2028.
Selectman Mary Power complimented Austin on the time he has invested in the Hingham community since he assumed the schools superintendent role at the beginning of the current school year. “We have noticed it, and we value it,” she said.
In summarizing the school budget process, School Committee Chair Michelle Ayer told the Hingham Anchor in an email: “We concluded our budget workshops in January and had the [required public] hearing at our Feb. 3 meeting. We presented our budget proposal to the Advisory Committee and the Selectmen [on Feb. 11] and will continue with budget discussions at the next few School Committee meetings (Feb. 24 and March 9) until we know what AdCom is going to support/recommend to Town Meeting,” which has the final say.
The school budget presentation, including special education details, is posted on the HPS website, https://hinghamschools.com/school-administration/files/2020/02/BOS-and-AdCom-Presenation-2-11-20.pdf